Leadership Development

The League's involvement in leadership development
began with the "Leaders for the 80s" project in 1980. This
joint effort of the League for Innovation and the American
Association of Women in Community Colleges (AAWCC), initially
funded by FIPSE, was designed to assist community college
women to assume major policy-making positions in community
colleges. The successful original program evolved into a spectrum
of programs serving women leaders at all levels, and led to
the establishment of the self-sustaining National Institute
for Leadership Development (NILD), now housed and operated
by the Maricopa Community Colleges.

Graduates of the programs, most now senior
administrators, have come from every state, several United
States territories, and Canada. The ability and performance
of women who have participated in the programs have had a
major and lasting impact on community colleges and their staffing
patterns.

In 1985, the League for Innovation and The
University of Texas at Austin received funding from the W.
K. Kellogg Foundation to launch a major new community college
leadership development project with several important elements
that have continued and expanded and comprise the heart of
the League's activities in leadership development.

The
Executive Leadership Institute, has prepared hundreds
of men and women for presidential positions. The purpose of
the institute is to provide an opportunity for potential community
college presidents as community leaders to review their abilities
and interests, to refine their skills, and to participate
in discussions on leadership issues with outstanding community
college and other community leaders in North America. Participants
in the Executive Leadership Institute are selected from among
applicants who have served in senior positions of leadership
in community colleges, formally reporting at the campus or
college CEO level, and who are qualified for the presidency
by their educational, experiential, and community leadership
backgrounds.

The
Expanding Leadership Diversity project, which ended in
1999, was designed for participants currently serving in mid-management
or faculty leadership positions to advance into senior-level
decision-making positions in the nations community colleges.
The key objective of this project was to ensure the continuing
development of
a pool of talented minority community college leaders. Designed
to ensure a diverse stream of qualified individuals in the
leadership pipeline, the project placed an emphasis on developing
mentors and participation in leadership and community problem-solving
experiences. Several hundred participants have now completed
the program.

Leadership Abstracts, is a series of thought-provoking,
yet brief articles devoted to leadership issues. Over the
years, the series has gained considerable respect as a significant
and timely source of valuable information on community college
leadership and is distributed monthly to 15,000 presidents,
trustees, senior administrators, and higher education professors
in two-year colleges and universities across the world.